An introduction to flamenco rhythms

In the following, a short description of the rhythms of the most common
flamenco styles (or Palos) is presented, together with typical
hand clapping patterns. As you certainly know, flamenco rhythms are
usually of either 12, 4 or 3 beats. The rhythmic units is called Compás*,
thus one Compás includes either 12, 4, or 3 beats. Since most
flamenco styles (Palos) have 12 beats, let us start with these
styles. Palos with 12 beats are for example Soleá, Alegría,
or Bulería. A table about the rhythms of the different flamenco
styles is available at the end of this page.

Compases of 12 beats generally have strong beats on the 3, 6,
8, 10, and 12 (marked bold in the following text). The rhythm usually
ends at the 10 (e.g. when there is a break, also called corte,
in the music). The basical rhythm of this Compás is:

Soleá

The style Soleá (or in plural Soleares) has a Compás
of 12 beats. The strong beats in this Compás are as usual the
3, 6, 8, 10, and 12. However, some of them are especially pronounced,
more specifically the 3, 10 and 12. Try to hear some Soleares,
you will hear it. A typical hand clapping pattern (Palmas=hands)
for Soleares is:

In this example, off-beats (or Contratiempos) are
played between the 1 and the 2, the 4 and the 5, and the 9 and the 10.
These should be exactly in the middle of two notes, not somewhere between
them. This hand clapping pattern is typical for the singing (Cante).

For percussive dance patterns (Escobillas) the
rhythm is frequently "doubled":

However, note that it is the very same rhythm as before which should
be played at the same speed. The only difference is that two notes are
played instead of one (A), or 4 notes are played instead of one (B).
When playing or dancing such patterns it help to pronounce the full
notes (the bold x's).

Alegría

Alegría is another rhythm with a Compás of 12 beats.
A typical clapping pattern is equal to the first one shown for Soleá.
A similar variation is the following example:

When two people are clapping their hands together (two Palmeros)
then the following pattern is very nice:

Bulería

Bulería is rhythmically maybe the most difficult, but also most
exciting style. Usually Bulería is taught as an example of a
style with 12 beats, which is often true. In this case, the basic clapping
pattern is:

A nice variation when two Palmeros are performing
together is:

A typical Corte (break) is shown in the following example. Note
that in the first half of the Compás many Contratiempos are
played. These, together with the pause after the 6 (in the sense that
the contratiempos stop for one beat), indicate that there will probably
be a break at the end of the Compás (10).

As noted earlier, Bulería is often played as a Compás
of 12 beats. However, in many cases the Compás rather follows
a pattern of 6 beats. And to make things more complicated, Bulería
can switch from 12 beats to 6 beats and vice versa at any time. However,
it is all easier than it seems. First have a look at the Bulería
pattern with 6 beats. Two different variations occur, one representing
the first half of the Compás and one representing the second
half of the compás (don't worry about the strange way of counting from
12 to 5 yet):

These rhythmical patterns may be repeated many times. When playing
the first one after the second one, you get the Compás of 12
beats again. But a typical rhythmic pattern will repeat the second pattern
for example three times, before finishing with the first pattern:

The first pattern is used for breaks (Cortes),
because it corresponds to the second half of the "normal"
Compás (of 12 beats). When playing a break using this
pattern it is convenient to count as in the second half of the Compás
from 6 to 12, then it becomes clearer at which position we are in the
rhythm:

It now becomes clear why we previously counted from 12 to 5. When counting
in this manner it is easy to switch to 6 7 8 9 10
whenever a break approaches (don't forget to stop at the 10, as in any
break). The entire sequence is consequently counted as:

The sequence may also be shorter or longer, or use a different pattern.
For example the first pattern of Bulería with 6 beats
may be repeated four times before closing the sequence with a Corte
in the fith Compás.

If you don't know how long the pattern will proceed, simply continue
counting from 12 to 5. If you think a break is approaching, then be
prepared to stop at the 10 (or the 4 if you still counted from 12 to
5). If there was no break, no problem. It is not important to play the
11. But if there was a break and you continued clapping, then everything
is ruined.

The typical hand-clapping pattern for Bulería in a compás of
6 beats is shown in the following example. Every second beat is pronounced
by the clapping hands, although the strong beats in the rhythm are the
12, 2, and 4. This results in a more interesting, swinging rhythm.

When ever you hear Bulería try which pattern fits the music
or the dance better, either the pattern with 12 beats or one of the
patterns with 6 beats. The patterns with 6 beats are especially common
in many Bulería songs and also in guitar falsetas (melodic parts
of the guitar). When a Falseta ends a break is typically played,
after which the music resumes with the rhythm of 12 beats (until the
next Falseta or the next song). When you hear a lot of flamenco
music you will soon learn to hear and understand the rhythmic patterns
and when to make breaks.

Siguiriyas (Seguiriyas)

The rhythm of Siguiriyas can be interpreted as a Compás
of 12 beats, starting at the 8 and finishing at the 7. This counting
scheme is propagated by many flamenco books. In this case the strong
beats remain the same as usual, i.e. the 8, 10, 12, 3, and 6. Most Flamencos
(people performing flamenco music or dance), however, prefer another
counting scheme, counting simply from 1 to 5:

For this counting scheme the intervals between the 3 and the 4 and
the 4 and the 5 are longer than between the 1, 2 and 3. You can overcome
this irregularity by counting "1 and 2 and 3 and a 4 and a 5 and…" or
similar.

It is uncommon to accompany Siguiriyas with hand clapping. However,
rhythmic passages dedicated to the dance may be accompanied with Palmas.
The following pattern gives one example:

Tangos, Rumbas, etc.

Several flamenco styles have rhythms of 4 beats, such as Tangos,
Tarantos, Tientos, and others. As in popular and classic
music, the beats 1 and 3 are emphasized:

A typical hand clapping pattern for Tangos is:

Aother variation for two Palmeros is:

The typical hand clapping scheme for Rumba is shown in the next
example. Due to the higher tempo Contratiempos are usually omitted
in Rumbas:

Fandango de Huelva

Fandangos are a group of very melodic flamenco styles. Most
Fandangos have a very free rhythm (Fandangos libres) are
not danced at all. However, between the songs, the guitar usually regains
the rhythm at plays "a compás". Only a few Fandangos have
a constant rhythm and are danced, such as Fandango de Huelva.
Many people interpret the rhythm of Fandango as a Compás
of 12 beats, with the strong beats on the 3, 6, 8, 10, and 12. On most
recordings, however, Fandangos are typically accompanied by a
rhythm of 3 or 6 beats. A typical hand clapping pattern for Fandango
de Huelva is:

Contrary to this example, the rhythm of Fandangos is written
with an upbeat (beginning with the 2 - 3) in many musical notations.
Consequently, the rhythmical pattern seems to be shifted:

Some recommendations for practicing

1. Begin very slowly.

2. When increasing speed, practice only at a maximum speed at which
you can still perform accurately and with a clean sound.

3. Train the same dance, guitar, or hand clapping pattern at different
speeds. If you can't play it at any speed, then haven't captured the
rhythm yet.

4. Pay especial attention to contratiempos (off-beats, syncopes) and
tresillos (triples), make shure that you don't increase speed without
intention. Use a simple rhythmic pattern when training contratiempos
and tresillos with a metronome.

An overview of the rhythms of the flamenco styles

Compás
de 12

Soleares

(Soleares,
Caña, Polo, Alborea)

Alegrías/Cantiñas

(Alegrías,
Romeras, Caracoles, Mirabras)

Bulerías

Soleares
por Bulería

Peteneras

Bamberas

Compásde
12/5

Siguiriyas/Saetas

(Siguiriyas,
Liviana, Serrana, Cabales)

Compásde
3

Fandangos

Verdiales

Malagueñas

Granaina

Tanguillos

Compásde
4

Tangos/Tientos

Garrotín

Farruca

Taranto

* For musicians: One Compás of 12
beats corresponds to four 3/4 rhythms. For Compases with 4 or 3 beats,
one Compás corresponds to one 4/4 or 3/4 rhythm.